The 2018 FIFA World Cup kicks off in Russia on Friday, June 15 at 1am (AEST), but when are Australia’s matches? The Roar has you covered with this handy little guide that has all Socceroos matches, opponents, venues and kick-off times, as well as their possible road to the final.
The Socceroos are competing in their fourth consecutive World Cup, and fifth overall. They progressed to the knockout phase for the first, and only, time in 2006, famously going down to Italy 1-0 in controversial circumstances.
Entering the tournament ranked 40th in the world, it will be an uphill battle for the Aussies to get out of a very difficult Group C.
» Download your free 2018 World Cup schedule PDF, all in Australian time
| Game No. | Date | Time | Match | Venue | Broadcast |
| 5 | Sat 16 Jun | 8:00 PM | France vs Australia | Kazan Arena | SBS, Optus Sport |
| 21 | Thu 21 Jun | 10:00 PM | Denmark vs Australia | Samara Arena | SBS, Optus Sport |
| 38 | Wed 27 Jun | 12:00 AM | Australia vs Peru | Fisht Stadium | SBS, Optus Sport |
Australia’s first clash could hardly be a more difficult assignment, taking on European superpowers France at the Kazan Arena. While they don’t have quite as impressive a resume as 1998 champions, the Aussies’ next opponent in Denmark currently sit in 12th on the official FIFA world rankings.
Then, it’s another clash against a top nation, with the no. 11-ranked Peru – who knocked New Zealand out in the last stage of qualification – awaiting the Socceroos at the conclusion of the group stage.
As such, it’ll be a difficult task for Australia to get themselves out of the group stage but, if you look at the full World Cup fixture, it doesn’t get much easier after that.
Finishing runners-up in the group would likely pit them against Argentina in the Round of 16, while any combination of Spain, Portugal or Uruguay would lay in wait for the Aussies if they were to progress further.
The Roar will have live blogs for all World Cup matches, as well as all the latest news, analysis and opinion over the course of the entire tournament.
Doran Smith
Roar Guru
Australia has a tough group, but you have to play the good teams sometime if you are going to be successful in the world cup.
MQ
Guest
I'm confident you're not the only socceroo fan around here who would have realistic expectations of what's possible in two or three weeks time, AS an aside, I wonder when the last time was that we managed a 3-0 win against the Saudis. Anyway, come WC time, it's hard not to get a bit excited and start imagining the impossible.
lunchboxexpert
Guest
chris (and everone else), Apologies for trying to keep Australian expectations realistic. Firstly I don't want Australia to respect Peru and Denmark, not least of all because they are actually quite good teams. And Secondly I want to challenge people not to have unrealistic performance targets for the Socceroos and their coaches, like thinking the team has "failed" if they don't make it out of the group stage. I'm happy (and in some ways expect it) for the players and the coaches to have these expectations of themselves. But for others I don't think this is either particularly helpful or setting achievable targets. As fans I think all we can expect of the players, the coaches and those close to the team is that they do their utmost to progress to the round of 16.
chris
Guest
Ok we get it. You don't think they are going to go far and you've said that many many times.
lunchboxexpert
Guest
"while any combination of Spain, Portugal or Uruguay would lay in wait for the Aussies if they were to progress further" Is this really a genuine possibility? I think people need to keep expectations of Australia's performance at this World Cup realistic. If Australia progresses beyond the group stage they would have done very very well, exceeded all expectations. But going any further, beating a top ranked team like Argentina in the round of 16, is beyond all realms of possibility and should not be entertained except when people are sleeping. "uphill battle for the Aussies to get out of a very difficult Group C." Group C is actually one of the easier groups Australia could be in, there are at least four other groups that would be more difficult for Australia to progress from and only two other groups that would be easier. And finally if Australia finishes third in their group then they have done very well.
lunchboxexpert
Guest
Just to temper the excitment of Australia's result against the Czech Republic, Peru last night summarily dismissed Saudi Arabia 3-nil. Peru is going to be a tough oppenent for Australia to beat.